Good point. All that talk about pre-EQd birch shells, back when I was younger, that was the sound I craved. But if his new drums sound the same, it's obviously the sound he wants.

Yes, that was the sound I craved back then too. But Vinnie's current drums don't sound like that at all. And I have a feeling his Gretsch kits never sounded as bad as his current setup.
Birch Yamahas and Maple Gretsches have lots of bright attack and resonance too, in spades.
His cymbals did sound amazing though. That Paiste silvery, 'never harsh' shimmer...just beautful - almost edible. I have a set of 602 modern essentials now.

Vinnie was killing on the Kennedy Center Honors Herbie tribute on Sunday. I love his Zildjian sound , I'm not sure why he switched to Paiste, that one has a drummer friend of mine scratching his head, too.

Vinnie was killing on the Kennedy Center Honors Herbie tribute on Sunday. I love his Zildjian sound , I'm not sure why he switched to Paiste, that one has a drummer friend of mine scratching his head, too.

I see his Vic Firth sig is for sale at a couple of places but I can't find anything about dimensions...Paul, do you know anything about that? Thanks

It's very similar to his previous Zildjian model, but 1/4" longer. I think it's 16" in length. I haven't actually held one, but he sent me a pic of one of the recent prototypes. Looks like the same tip as before.

I think that Vinnie moved to Paiste with his Ludwig endorsement.
I have a ride, crash, and a pair of high hats from the early 60's. They are stamped "Ludwig Standard - Paiste -Swiss made". I saw Joe Morello at a clinic in 1968. He has was endorsing Paiste because of the new Ludwig-Paiste association.

I think that Vinnie moved to Paiste with his Ludwig endorsement.
I have a ride, crash, and a pair of high hats from the early 60's. They are stamped "Ludwig Standard - Paiste -Swiss made". I saw Joe Morello at a clinic in 1968. He has was endorsing Paiste because of the new Ludwig-Paiste association.

Wrong. That was the 60's. Today, Paiste and Ludwig are independent of each other.
Besides, Vinnie is not endorsing Ludwig anymore, but still endorsing Paiste.

I was out looking to see a) who was playing drums for Sting and b) if it was Vinnie, what he was using for equipment. Sting has (it appears) Vinnie and the drummer from the Symphonicities tour. Finding images of Vinnie was next to impossible.

It's just a matter of visual impression, the white Gretsch was Vinnie's signature look for
the past years. Could have been a white Pearl Export with black hoops, I don't mind. It's
the familiar look I was referring to.

Personally the thing that shocked me the most when VC went to Ludwig & Paiste was he suddenly had two crashes up front and the ride pushed to his right. I hadn't seen that setup in all the time I have been following him. Anyone know anything about that?

I never enjoyed the white Gretsch kit visually & rarely in sound. Much prefer his Yamaha Maple Custom sopund back in the "Soul Cages" / "Ten Summoner's Tales" era. Very interesting to see him appearing to play a MC again recently.

Vinnie participated in Dewa Budjana's brand new album "Surya Namaskar" (w/ Jimmy Johnson on bass, guest appearances by Gary Husband, Michael Landau).
Dewa Budjana is one of Indonesia's most important guitarists. I stumbled across this album as the following link was shared by Allan Holdsworth on facebook.

Personally the thing that shocked me the most when VC went to Ludwig & Paiste was he suddenly had two crashes up front and the ride pushed to his right. I hadn't seen that setup in all the time I have been following him. Anyone know anything about that?

I never enjoyed the white Gretsch kit visually & rarely in sound. Much prefer his Yamaha Maple Custom sopund back in the "Soul Cages" / "Ten Summoner's Tales" era. Very interesting to see him appearing to play a MC again recently.

Sounds like the new kit is more Gretsch than Yamaha......
I am sutprised they have not released the particulars of the kit. Seems to be lot of interest in it